Kiln sticker

ABSTRACT

A kiln sticker having a top bearing and a bottom bearing to engage the under surface and top surface respectively of two spaced apart boards of lumber, the transverse extent of said top bearing being substantially less than the width of said sticker.

IJnited States Patent 1.191

Hutcheson Sept. 23, 1975 [5 KILN STICKER 1,277,619 9/1918 McMullen 214/105 R 2 3 B 2141 .5 [76] Inventor: Dennis Hutcheson, 30 King St,, a 5 3 5 Hume/111e, Ontario, Canada 3,083,845 4/1963 Kuster 214/105 R 8 Koebel 1 4 R [21] Appl. No.1486,528

Primary Examiner-Kenneth W. Sprague Assistant Examiner-JameS C. Yeung [30] Foreign Apphcatlon Pnonty Data Attorney, Agent, or FirmFetherstonhaugh & Co.

Nov. 20, 1973 Canada 186262 [52] U.S. Cl 214/105 R; 34/94; 34/DIG. 19 [51] Int. Cl? B65G H14 [57] ABSTRACT [58] Field of Search 34/6, 9.5, 13.4, 13.8,

34/94, 237, 238, DIG. 19, 38; 214/105 R, A kiln sticker having atop bearing and a bottom bear- 6 101/403; ing to engage the under surface and top surface re- /3 9 367 spectively of two spaced apart boards of lumber, the

transverse extent of said top bearing being substan- References Clted tially less than the width of said sticker.

UNITED STATES PATENTS 954,041 4/1910 McDougall 214/105 R 2 Claims, 4 Drawing Figures This invention relates to a device that is commonly referred to as a kiln sticker or a kiln crosser.

Kiln stickers are used in the stacking oflumber as a separation between courses of lumber to allow the air to circulate around the lumber for drying. The drying operation can be done in open air or in a drying kiln.

Until quite recently, kiln stickers were commonly manufactured from low grade lumber. More recently, the high cost of lumber has resulted in the manufacture of kiln stickers from laminated craft paper bound with a suitable resin. In all cases, the cross-section of the sticker has been substantially rectangular.

This invention is concerned with an improved sticker design that is especially suitable for plastics materials. Stickers made according to the invention are substantially less in weight, as a result of which transportation costs are less, and they are easier to work with. There is a smaller bearing area between the sticker and the lumber. This feature results in a better circulation of air on the exposed surfaces of the lumber and should reduce the incidence of crosser shadow. Crosser shadow is a darkening of the lumber where the stickers cross the lumber as it is dried. Sticker or crosser shadow is thought to be caused by the perculation of sugars and other chemicals from the lumber in the drying process at the location of the crosser. These sugars are trapped at the surface by the crosser and tend to mark the lumber. The phenomenon occurs only at certain times of the year. The sticker of this invention uses a very much smaller bearing area between the sticker and the lumber and the resulting better circulation should reduce crosser shadow.

The kiln sticker according to this invention has a top bearing and a bottom bearing to engage the under surface and top surface respectively of two parallel spaced apart courses of lumber, the transverse extent of said top bearing being less than the width of said sticker. The sticker is preferably made from a plastics materials, such as polyethylene.

The invention will be clearly understood after reference to the following detailed specification read in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIG. I is a representation of a pile of lumber stacked for drying;

FIG. 2 is a detailed illustration showing the relationship of the stickers in overlying courses of stacked lumber;

FIG. 3 is an illustration of a sticker strip; and

FIG. 4 is a sectional illustration of a sticker strip sticker taken along the line 44 of FIG. 3.

Numeral generally refers to a sticker according to the invention. It is preferably made by an extrusion process from a polyethylene or other suitable plastics material. It is used in the conventional way to separate courses of lumber 12 in a stack 14. The use of stickers that extend across the lumber stack in the stacking of lumber is well known and not referred to in detail in this application. 7

The kiln sticker illustrated has a top bearing comprised of bearing surface 16, which is designed to engage with the underside of a course of stacked lumber in use, and a bottom bearing, which is comprised of bearing surfaces 18 and 20 which are designed to engage with the top surface of' a ciourse of stacked lumber muse.

The trahsverseextentof the top surface 16 is substantially less than thelwidthi of the sticker '50 that the area of contactbetween the'lumber and the sticker is reduced when compared with conventional sticker designs. A practical width for a sticker across the bottom is 1 /2 inches. The width of the surface 16 for such a sticker will depend upon the strength of the sticker material, the hardness of the lumber and the desire to avoid sticker shadow. It must be wide enough to bear the load. It should not be so narrow as to bruise the lumber. From the point of view of sticker shadow, it should not be more than inch in width. Similar conditions apply to the design of the surfaces 20 of the bottom bearing. In the drawing they have been shown as equal in width to the top bearing surface. Because there are two bearing surfaces on the bottom, one could make them one-half the width of the top surface from a loading point of view. A person skilled in the art would have no difficulty in designing a sticker accord ing to the invention that would achieve the objective within the general limitations.

The upper surface of the sticker in cross section is arcuate, with the exception of the flat portion at the top bearing 16. As illustrated in FIG. 4, the bottom surface slopes upwardly and inwardly from each of the bearing surfaces 18 and 20. The bearing surfaces 18 and 20 are located at the side edges of the sticker to give it a good base. The upwardly sloping portions of the underside provide for good circulation and reduce the amount of material required to make the sticker.

In use the stickers 10 separate adjacent courses of lumber to permit air to pass around the lumber and perform the drying function. There is nothing different in the manner of using a sticker according to the present invention to the manner of using a conventional sticker insofar as stacking practice is concerned.

The particular shape of the sticker is of importance. It permits one to extrude the formation with a minimum of material. The bearing surfaces are smaller in size than the bearing surfaces of a conventional sticker, with the result that a better circulation of air is achieved. The sticker illustrated has a width of 1 /2 inches and a height of about of an inch. The bearing surfaces 16, 18 and 20 are each about 5 4 of an inch wide. The important feature about the invention is the design in which the transverse extent of the top bearing is substantially less than the width of the sticker. This permits economies in manufacture and a better circulation. A further important feature is the design of the bottom bearing with a composite bearing composed of more than one laterally spaced apart bearing surface. The space between the composite bearing surfaces also improves circulation over the lumber.

The sticker can be made of any suitable material, but is particularly suited to a plastics material such as polyethylene. When made from such a material it can be moulded by an extrusion process.

Embodiments of the invention other than the one illustrated will be apparent to those skilled in the art, and it is not intended that the invention should be restricted to the embodiment of the invention illustrated.

The embodiments of the invention in which an exclusive property or privilege is claimed are defined as fol lows:

sticker shadow, said bottom bearing being a composite bearing composed of two laterally spaced apart bearing surfaces, one adjacent each side edge of said sticker and each laterally disposed of said top bearing surface,

said sticker being of solid cross section.

2. A kiln sticker as claimed in claim 1 in which the transverse extent of said top bearing is no more than A inch. 

1. A kiln sticker for lumber having a top bearing and a bottom bearing to engage the under surface and top surface respectively of two spaced apart boards of stacked lumber, the transverse extent of said top bearing being substantially greater than a point whereby not to bruise the lumber, and substantially less than the width of said stickeR to minimize sitcker shadow, the transverse extent of said bottom bearing being great enough to avoid bruising and substantially less in transverse extent than the width of said sticker to minimize sticker shadow, said bottom bearing being a composite bearing composed of two laterally spaced apart bearing surfaces, one adjacent each side edge of said sticker and each laterally disposed of said top bearing surface, said sticker being of solid cross section.
 2. A kiln sticker as claimed in claim 1 in which the transverse extent of said top bearing is no more than 1/4 inch. 